The Hacks for Busy Mothers with Healthy Children
Despite her role as a village leader, Sriwarni doesn't neglect her duties as a mother. She also takes on another role as a farmer in the village. This mother of a toddler boy named Dient has effective and efficient tips to ensure her child's nutritional needs are met. Her busy daily activities are no excuse for Sriwarni to disregard her child's nutritional intake.
Seeing how Sriwarni raises Dient amidst her various activities, other mothers in the village have started to follow suit. Initially, mothers in this village in South Nias Regency were less aware of the importance of fulfilling their children's needs, especially sufficient and appropriate nutrition. Parents often prioritised farming over paying attention to what their children ate daily. Because farming takes up so much of the mothers' time, another issue emerged. "In this village, because it's close to the market, mothers of toddlers tend to buy all types of vegetables rather than growing them themselves, even though most of them are farmers," Sriwarni explained.
She then began to try using her farming skills to cultivate vegetables that her family could consume, especially Dient. Utilising her home garden and trying hydroponic planting methods, Sriwarni successfully harvested many vegetables that could be a variety of nutritious food sources for the whole family.
"After three months, I saw the vegetables grow well and could be harvested. Then I picked and cooked them, mixing them with other foods, and gave them to my child. We've harvested 7-8 times now, and they're consumed by all family members. I feel there's been a change because now I can vary vegetables with food ingredients containing protein like chicken or fish," Sriwarni recounted.
Closer access to vegetables also went hand in hand with Sriwarni's increased knowledge in processing local food ingredients into balanced nutritious meals. She received various balanced nutritious food recipes for toddlers through the Nutrition Post activities held in her village. "My child's weight was previously 7.7 kg and now it's gone up to 8.1 kg. I don't need to buy vegetables anymore, so economically it's more profitable, and my child can also consume healthy vegetables," she revealed.
Various activities that Sriwarni participated in within her village ran well due to the cooperation between Wahana Visi Indonesia, which partners with the Lembaga Obor Berkat, and the community and health workers. Activities related to the health and nutrition of toddlers are now running better. For example, Posyandu (community health posts) are held every month, and mothers are enthusiastic about monitoring their toddlers' growth and development; families like Sriwarni are starting to utilise their home gardens to create Nutrition Gardens; and parents are becoming more skilled at processing balanced nutritious food because they are learning together at the Nutrition Post. This comprehensive intervention has a big goal: children in South Nias are free from various nutritional problems, children in South Nias grow up healthy, and can become a brilliant future generation.
Contributor: Theoli Gulo (South Nias Area Programme staff)
Editor: Mariana Kurniawati (Communication Executive)
